1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to printed wiring board (PWB) standoff devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Standoffs are commonly used in the electronics industry to securely hold one circuit board (e.g., a motherboard) to another circuit board (e.g., a daughterboard), or to hold or attach some other component a fixed distance from the circuit board. Standoffs function as a mechanical mating device that securely holds components a fixed distance apart.
FIG. 2 shows a simple standoff designed for sheet metal. Its round design is not suitable for holding and manipulating, and the gripping area is not suitable for printed wiring board (PWB) material. Most standoffs used with PWBs have male threads on one end and female on the other (see FIG. 3(a)) or are swaged onto the PWB (see FIG. 4(a)). If a very short standoff is needed the male/female version has too few threads on the female side and swaged standoffs always have the potential of spinning which renders them useless and hard to repair.
The present invention provides a standoff that provides an anti-turn feature, allows unlimited mating engagement, needs no special tooling to install or remove, is process insensitive, can be fabricated to any length, and is hex-shaped for best holding and manipulating.